F5000 Mobil 1
How a Grand Prix car with World Championship connections came to be racing here
Prior to the introduction of Formula 5000 in the Tasman Series races, we were treated to genuine Grand Prix chassis racing on our circuits, running 2.5 litre downsized F1 engines, with both Cosworth and BRM making specific “Tasman” spec. units while Ferrari used their Formula Two car with an updated version of their late 1950s V6.
Many think that with the change to the stock block Formula 5000 class, that that was the end of Grand Prix cars competing in our major single seater series. This however was not quite the case, as I learned when I was introduced to the work of Christchurch motorsport fanatic Chris Williamson, a quadriplegic with a massive passion for the sport who passed away in 1994.
In recording the history of a single Surtees chassis, this introduction coming via another dedicated follower of the sport, Derek Woods who very generously allowed me to raid his archive for this story.
Renowned for his exploits in saloon cars, Ashburton’s Neil Doyle travelled to Europe in 1973 and worked for the Belgian VDS Racing team who were running a pair of F5000 Chevron B24 chassis for Teddy Pilette and Peter Gethin in the European F5000 series.
As they had in 1971 and 72, the team also ventured south to run in the Tasman series over the European winter, a successful trip with Gethin taking two wins at Pukekohe and Sandown and the overall title. Neil’s intention was to buy a car and bring it back to New Zealand to compete in the domestic F5000 series himself.
A new Chevron was too expensive so after a trip to the Surtees factory he came away with a TS9B, chassis 006 and according to Derek Woods (who states his greatest moment in motorsport was to hold the pitboard for Neil and the Surtees for the 84 Lap Levin International race in 1974), some goodies uplifted from the workshop rubbish skip.
There is a Kiwi precedent for this making use of cast-offs, which is how the McBegg came into being from unwanted and unloved Can-Am bits.
Neil had been staying with George Begg who was in the UK at the same time, running David Oxton in F5000 with the Begg FM5, so possibly he was given some useful advice before his raid on the dark corners of “Big John’s” premises.
The engineless car arrived in New Zealand with barely sufficient time to prepare it for the 1974 Gold Star series. A new King Cobra engine had been purchased from Graeme Lawrence as the spare engine for the Lola T300 which was destroyed in an accident in the 1972 New Zealand Grand Prix at Pukekohe, taking the life of Bryan Falloon. A huge effort was required to turn the former Formula One chassis into a race -ready Formula 5000 car. The first outing at Ruapuna was not a success with the fuel pump failing.
The next round was Levels, Timaru and again ended with a DNF, this time the clutch was the culprit. Finally at Manfeild the car completed an entire race, taking the flag in fourth place. The Bay Park race also ended badly, this time an accident involving David Oxton and Gary Pederson put the Doyle Surtees out.
Three Tasman Series races were also entered in that first season for the car, the highlight being the Levin race mentioned earlier with a 9th place finish. Gear linkage problems at Teretonga slowed him; however the car kept going to cross the line 11th, while the Lady Wigram trophy was a DNF due to suspension failure.
The 1974/75 Post Office Savings Bank Series was the highlight of chassis 006’s Formula 5000 career with a win, three seconds, one third and one fourth place finish along with three DNFs. Yet a season later the car’s career was over. Due to a lack of finance only one race was planned, the swansong to be the 1976 Lady Wigram trophy, again a round of the Tasman Series. Sadly the meeting ended in disappointment for the Doyle team. In practice the brand-new engine failed and this was the end of the road for Neil and his former Grand Prix car.
George Begg purchased the Surtees soon after and he had it returned to Formula One specification. Ross Stone and Graeme Cook were responsible for the work on the monocoque while a Cosworth DFV, obtained from John Nicholson, was rebuilt in Auckland and the car was seen at Wigram in 1979, demonstrated by former works Surtees driver Mike Hailwood, who drove an identical chassis through the 1972 Formula One World Championship.
006 was the car allocated to Australian Tim Schenken who drove it through the entire 1972 season, with the exception of the US Grand Prix when he was allocated a new TS14, the TS9B being trusted to American Sam Posey who struggled home 12th, two laps down but was the only one of the three Surtees entered to make it to the finish that day. Surtees’ Grand Prix cars were never a huge success and 006’s best World Championship result was 5th, at the very first Grand Prix of the season, Argentina. Highlight of the car’s Formula One career was the non-championship John Player Trophy at Brands Hatch, held at the conclusion of the World Championship. By now Schenken and Surtees had parted ways, the Australian not getting on at all with his team owner, so 006 was in the hands of new boy, Brazilian Carlos Pace who ended his debut F1 race in second, failing oil pressure stopping him for pushing for a possible win.
This was not quite the end of the F1 career for 006. The Hesketh team, planning on moving from Formula Two into the big time with their fast if wild driver James Hunt, leased the car for the 1973 non-championship Race of Champions at Brands Hatch. A sign of things to come, the Englishman on his Formula One debut finished third and immediately announced his arrival in the top tier of motorsport.
What happened to 006 after it left New Zealand is a bit of a mystery, but it appears in the Nov 2005 issue of Vintage Racecar where it is subject to a track test. Interestingly, its New Zealand sojourn as a Formula 5000 isn’t mentioned at all.
As a matter of fact the story simply says, “The car, after Hesketh had used it for Hunt, was always maintained in good condition.” This is either a compliment to Neil Doyle, or a chunk of its history has been forgotten.